The solar system may host a ninth planet that is about 10 times bigger than Earth and orbiting far beyond Neptune, according to research published on Wednesday.

Source: thinglink.com

Nicknamed Planet Nine, it appears to be circling the Sun on a super elongated obit that takes an incredible 10,000 to 20,000 years to complete. Estimated to be about 10 times more massive than Earth and four times the size, the team says no one’s noticed it until now because it’s about 149 billion km from the Sun, or 75 times more distant than Pluto. A ray of light would take a week to get there.

It moves on an extremely elongated orbit, and takes a staggering 10,000 to 20,000 years to swing once around the sun.

Source: news.softpedia.com

The icy world, if it exists, has evaded detection because it is so far away. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) calculate that the closest it comes to the sun is 15 times the distance to Pluto.

“This would be a real ninth planet,” said Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy. The report was published in the Astronomical Journal.